Full weeks of veterans’ events are planned on several Pitt campuses surrounding Veterans Day (Nov. 11), from happy hours to seminars.
“We want to continue to recognize and support all of our military-affiliated members of the community and assure veterans have available to them resources to assist them in their academic and professional pursuits,” says Brett J. Foley, program coordinator of the Office of Veterans Services on the Pittsburgh campus.
That office’s main event is a free Nov. 9 Pitt Military Community Appreciation Brunch at the University Club’s Ballroom B, open to Pitt veterans, active service members, ROTC and veteran community supporters, including staff, students, faculty and alumni. The event won’t have a featured speaker, Foley said; it’s simply designed “to break bread together and share stories about each other's lives.” Registration is here.
Pitt’s football game on Nov. 11 (7:30 p.m., Heinz Field) against the University of North Carolina has been dubbed a Military Appreciation Game, honoring active military members and veterans. The evening will include a re-enlistment ceremony as well. It is sponsored by Pitt Athletics, which has made a select number of free tickets available for veterans through VetTix, although there may be a processing fee. Tickets can also be requested from Pitt's Human Engineering Research Laboratories (krs235@pitt.edu), by writing with your name, Pitt affiliation and ticket amounts.
Katz MBA Veterans are hosting a Happy Hour before the game from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Eagle, 737 Penn Ave., downtown. This $25 event includes a game ticket for section 228 in the home corner of Heinz Field. The event is open to all Katz MBA students, Katz alumni and Pitt Veterans. Raffle prizes will be drawn. Attendees are asked to complete both a ticket request and an event RSVP. For more information, contact KatzVets@Pitt.edu or Josh Rosenbush at JoshRosenbush@Pitt.edu.
On Nov. 8, the Office of Veterans Services is sponsoring a yoga event at the School of Education (fifth floor, Posvar Hall, at noon and 3 p.m.), open to Pitt veterans, military dependents and School of Education students. Bring a mat if you have one (some will be available), and a mask. Register by email at nicoleyakovich@pitt.edu with the subject line “Yoga registration.”
Questions about any event? Email: veterans@pitt.edu
Regional campuses
Pitt–Greensburg has its own week of veterans’ events this year, for which the public can register at 724-836-7188 or UPGVeterans@pitt.edu (with your name, phone number and total number attending).
The week begins with a wreath ceremony at 11:30 a.m. Nov. 8 at the Chambers Hall flag poles. CSM (Ret.) Bart E. Womack is the keynote speaker, which commemorates the centennial of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, where Womack has served.
The week continues with “Reflections of Service — A Discussion” at 7 p.m. Nov. 9 at Mary Lou Campana Chapel and Lecture Center, where four panelists will discuss “The First Casualty: Military Conflict, the Media and Public Opinion from WWII to Present Day.”
Shaun Hall, the host and producer of the Veterans Breakfast Club, which holds veterans’ storytelling programs, will moderate the panel. It includes Benjamin Abel, former Army Public Affairs Officer; Elizabeth Becker, award-winning journalist and author of “When the War was Over: Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge Revolution”; Todd DePastino, founder and executive director of the Veterans Breakfast Club and author of “Bill Mauldin: A Life Up Front”; and Pitt–Greensburg alumnus Justin Merriman, award-winning freelance photojournalist and a founding member of American Reportage, a collective of documentary photojournalists specializing in comprehensive storytelling of the American experience.
Finally, the Pitt–Greensburg Chapter of Phi Eta Sigma National Freshman Honor Society will host its annual Veterans Day Luncheon, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Nov. 11 in the Hempfield Room of Chambers Hall, for veterans and their family members. (Face coverings are required indoors until seated to eat lunch.)
At Pitt–Bradford, a Veterans Day Honor Breakfast to recognize faculty and staff members who have served will be held 7 to 8 a.m. Nov. 11 in the University Room in the Frame-Westerberg Commons, with food donated by the campus food vendor Metz.
— Marty Levine
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